


What are the Odds?

by queerSeth



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Hiatus, Identity Reveal, LadyNoir - Freeform, Marichat, Maybe abandoned, Original Akuma, adrienette - Freeform, akuma fight, ladrien
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-21 22:42:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6060820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queerSeth/pseuds/queerSeth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>VERY MUCH ON HIATUS</p><p>Adrien is having trouble in school so Marinette offers to tutor him. But what happens when an akimbo begins attacking the city, and both Ladybug and Chat Noir are trapped together trying to hide their identities and save the day?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I Wanna Get Better

Adrien hit his head onto the desk in frustration. He could feel the 20 or so pairs of eyes on him from his classmates, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't wrap his head around physics.

"Mr. Agreste? Is something the matter?" His teacher, Madame Saber, asked, obviously concerned.

"No ma'am..." He sighed. He was already behind in math and geography. He didn't want to seem like he was stupid, he was just tired from fighting as Chat Noir most evenings.

The lesson continued quickly, each word making less and less sense as he struggled to stay awake. Nino would hit his arm every so often if it looked like he had drifted off, but other than that he was left alone.

_ All the better, _ He thought to himself.  _ I don't need anyone asking questions I can't answer. _

 

~~~

 

Marinette looked sadly at the boy in front of her. She knew how it felt to be exhausted all day, even if his exhaustion was probably due to his busy life of modelling, and hers was caused by fighting crime all night.

_ Maybe I could do something to help... But what? _

She saw Nino hit his friend's arm again. As the blonde boy bolted awake, his arm shoved some papers to the side, revealing a whole pile of started but incomplete physics homework. The teacher gave him a pointed look, but continued to explain without making a fuss.

After class had ended, Alya and Marinette rushed to catch up with Nino and Adrien before they  could go home.

Alya greeted Nino with a quick kiss, earning an obnoxious "aww" from their single counterparts.

The couple blushed and pulled away, but their eyes stayed glued to each other's. Adrien smiled knowingly. It had been less than a month since his friend had been hopelessly in love with Marinette. Of course, their first date had been interrupted by Hawkmoth and his akumas, leading Nino to realise that the girl he loved all along had been Alya.

Marinette smiled at her friend as well. After the mess with animan, Alya had revealed that she had been crushing on Nino for a while, and that his crush on Marinette had broken her heart.

_ Thank goodness everything worked out in the end. _ Marinette thought with a grin.

"Marinette? Did you hear us?" Alya asked, waving her hand in front of her friend's face. Marinette blinked in confusion, causing Alya to laugh.

"I said 'we should go for ice cream to start off the new week.' You in?"

Before she could respond, Adrien sighed and shook his head. "I'm gonna have to pass. If I don't start understanding physics I'll flunk the class and that..." He paused, trying to find the right word. "... would be bad."

Nino's face went dark and he looked away, clenching his fist by his side. The group was well aware of Mr. Agreste's expectations of his son and how hard Adrien struggled to meet them. Failing a class in school wouldn't be 'bad' in Adrien's case; it would be disastrous.

Alya grabbed Marinette's hand and pulled her away from the boys to talk.

"Did you hear him? He needs a tutor in physics!"

Marinette nodded sadly, looking back over at Adrien. "Poor Adrien, his dad's so hard on him..."

Alya smacked her forehead and groaned. "Marinette you are the top mark in our Physics class."

Marinette's eyes lit up as the idea began forming in her head. She bounced excitedly and grabbed Alya by the shoulders, shaking her.

"I should tutor him!" She yelled, a little too loudly apparently as the two boys burst out laughing.

The girls returned to their male counterparts, Marinette's face visibly red from embarrassment.

Adrien smiled and nudged Marinette's arm lightly. "Who were you going to tutor?" He teased.

Marinette's face blushed deeper and she side-stepped away from him, being reminded eerily of Chat as Alya gave her a look.

"I was just pointing out to our friend Marinette here that she has one of the top marks in our class. You should set up a study date."

Adrien laughed as he felt Marinette stiffen beside him. He knew if he looked at her face it would be a deep reddish purple.

"Sounds like fun if you ignore the studying part. What do you say Marmar? Wanna be my academic hero?" Marinette blushed at the pet name but giggled at the  irony of him calling her a hero and nodded.

"Awesome!" Adrien grinned, bumping her arm again, this time locking their elbows together so she couldn't step away again. After Nino revealed his crush on Marinette, Adrien had began looking at her from different angles, trying to find what his friend saw in her, and though he'd never admit it, he was beginning to like what he saw. A date with her sounded like a perfect way to spend a Friday evening, even if they had to spend their time on schoolwork.

Nino and Alya laced their fingers together and smiled knowingly at the pair.

"If you two are done being obvious, the ice cream idea is still on the table. Any takers?"

Adrien squeezed Marinette's arm and cocked his head in a silent  _ shall we? _

The dark haired girl nodded and the group walked off down the street, talking animatedly.

 

~~~

 

Friday seemed like it couldn't come soon enough during the week, but when it finally arrived, Marinette was a nervous wreck. Her room was a whirlwind of cleaning and organisation. Tikki was sat on the desk, nibbling slowly on a cupcake and watching her human sympathetically.

"In my experience, if a boy likes you, a messy room won't change those feelings, so you can stop scrubbing the windows now. I’m sure if you go any longer you’ll wear a hole all the way through with the soap suds."

Marinette stopped short and turned to face the kwami, her face flaring up again.

"That’s not how windows work Tikki, and what do you mean 'feelings'? Adrien just needs help with school." She tried to keep her voice steady, but her face betrayed her with its persistent blush.

Tikki winked and flew over to the door. "Ready?" She chirped.

Marinette sighed and nodded stiffly just as the doorbell rang.

When she got downstairs, Adrien had already struck up a conversation with her father. She could smell baked goods from the kitchen as her mom hummed softly.

Everyone looked up as she came down the stairs. It was like she was Cinderella at the ball, except she was wearing a paint stained tee-shirt instead of a fancy dress, and she was tutoring her prince instead of marrying him.

"Oh Marinette! Adrien was just telling us that you're going to help him with school. I didn't know you enjoyed physics so much!" Her dad beamed, obviously proud.

Marinette blushed a deep scarlet and grabbed Adrien's wrist while she stammered out a quick "yeahokaywehavetogettoworkbye." The pair ran upstairs, her parents chuckling softly below them.

When they got to her room, Adrien freed his hand and gazed quizzically at her.

"You shouldn't treat your parents so flippantly." He frowned, dropping his bag on her bed.

Marinette smiled timidly and shrugged. "They're just... I mean, sometimes they can... Well, you know how parents can be..."

Adrien cut her off with a stern gaze. "No. I don't."

A heavy silence hung between them. Adrien's face fell as the weight of his words was realised. Marinette's fluster transformed into an uncomfortable stammer as she searched for the right thing to respond with.

Adrien noticed her distress and broke into an uneasy grin in an attempt to put her at ease again. After all, he didn't want to start their time together on a bad note.

"I’m sorry. That was pretty out of the blue. We're here to spend time together, not throw me a pity party."

Marinette didn't seem convinced, but nodded anyway. "Should we begin studying then?"

Adrien let out a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding and matched her nod with a smile.

 

~~~

 

2 hours and 6 breakdowns later - both of the materials and on Adrien's part - Adrien fell backwards onto the bed with a thud.

"We've been over this 5 times now. It's hopeless Marinette. I'm never going to get it."

Marinette sighed and closed the book in her lap. "It isn't hopeless, we just need to find a new angle."

Adrien groaned and spun himself so that he was lying on his stomach, facing her.

"You sound like a friend of mine. She always has a creative solution to a problem." His face lit up as Ladybug's face invaded his thoughts.

Marinette blushed and brushed a stray hair behind her ear. "Really? She sounds cool."

"She is."

The room fell into silence again, but it wasn't the same, awkward silence as before. This time it was comfortable.

"I still don't understand Mari. I'm not smart like you or Alya or Nino. It's not sticking."

Marinette frowned and opened the textbook again, determined to help her friend.

"'Potential energy is the energy that an object has due to its -'"

"I read that already!" Adrien cried in frustration, burrowing his head in her blankets. "It doesn't make any sense..." He mumbled.

Marinette waited for him to be quiet again before continuing with a slight smile. "'- due to its position in a force field.' Now watch." She pulled a pencil out of a cup on her desk and held it in the air in front of her. "This pencil has potential energy. If I drop it, it will use up its potential energy during the fall so that when it lands," She dropped the pencil. "- What type of energy does the pencil have now?"

"No energy?" Adrien offered with a weak smile, then under his breath added "Kind of like me right now..."

Marinette blinked, reminded for a moment of Chat Noir, but pushed the thought from her mind.

"No, you dork." She grinned, rolling her eyes. "It has-"

But her words were cut off suddenly, replaced with an unpleasant ringing in her ear. Her mouth kept moving, trying to finish whatever she had started saying, but neither of them could hear anything. The pair shared a confused look as the sounds of the surrounding city began finding their way back into their ears and the ringing slowly subsided.

“Well that was certainly... Peculiar...” Adrien mused, looking around the room to try and find a logical explanation.

Marinete nodded nervously, trying to come up with a way to get away in case there was an akuma at large in the city again. With Adrien around though, there would be no way for her to transform and help Chat if he needed it.

“Do you think it happened to everyone?” Adrien asked, also trying to work out an escape plan. Ladybug could handle a lot, and he knew she’d probably be fine without him, but there was a nagging doubt in the back of his mind that she would be in trouble without him.

“Only one way to find out I suppose...” Marinette said, already headed towards the door to go downstairs.

Adrien followed dutifully, taking the stairs two at a time to keep up with Marinette, who was basically sprinting to check on her parents.

When they got downstairs both of their suspicions were confirmed. A quick glance outside let them know that everyone else had felt the silence too. There were cars crashed into streetlamps, and people racing around in a frenzy trying to understand what was going on.

“Don’t worry Marinette,” Adrien smiled, placing a hand reassuringly on her shoulder. “Ladybug and Chat Noir will figure this out. There’s nothing to be scared of.”

Both of them went silent, staring outside at the madness that surrounded them. Both knew that Adrien was wong. Neither of them would be able to get away without worrying the other, and so they wouldn’t be able to transform.

_ I have to get away, and fast. _

 

~~~

 

Up in Marinette’s bedroom, Tikki was a nervous wreck. She was flying around the room in a flurry of anxiety and stress trying to find a solution to the... problem that her and Plagg were facing.

“Would you calm down? Adrien’s thick as a board, and Marinette’s oblivious to pretty much everything. They aren’t going to figure out who they are.” Plagg called from the desk, his mouth full of cheese as he took yet another bite of the piece that Adrien had brought him.

“And what if they do, Plagg? What then? Don’t you remember last time?”

Plagg waved his paw lazily. “Last time was the Greek’s fault. They shouldn't have let that horse in the city. It was a stupid move. Ladybug and Chat had nothing to do with that disaster.”

Tikki’s face flared up in annoyance. “You can’t keep blaming the Greek’s for all of your problems Plagg! If Ladybug and Chat Noir had stayed oblivious to who the other was, they would have been more focused and they would have won.”

“Water under the bridge, buggy. You know as well as I do that they would have lost anyways. And furthermore, I can blame the Greek’s for anything I want. I always liked the egyptians better anyway. They knew how to treat a cat right.” Plagg huffed.

Tikki groaned and flew to the bookshelf again, scanning for something to help. She had insisted that arinete keep books on ancient magics and spells and the like in case of an emergency, so there was bound to be a boo with a memory reversal or something like that.

“ If they’re destined to find out, they will.” Plagg continued, still chewing. “ Remember New York? London? They found out then too.”

“But they were  _ supposed _ to find out those time. They had finished their training by then. Adrien and Marinette are still so young, so inexperienced. They need to understand their powers before we throw any more shocks their way.”

“I still vote that next time we choose our humans, we tell them straight up who the other is. They can work together better that way. There’s no trust in this relationship.”

“And leave them vulnerable to a falling out? Ladybug and Chat Noir work together well because their miraculous -  _ us -  _ draw their energies together. If they know who each other is in their other forms, they don’t have that pull. They could fight with each other, or worse -”

Plagg cut her off with a wave of his paw. “Have you seen those two together? They’d be inseparable. Besides, they’re both hopelessly in love with one another already. Why not show them they don't have to dance around the subject anymore and everyone would be happy?”

Tikki threw a book at him, missing by only an inch. Plagg grinned sheepishly and shrugged. “it was just a thought.

“Keep it to yourself then. If you even  _ think  _ about telling either of them-”

“Telling either of us what?” Adrien asked from the doorway. Marinette stood behind him, her face plastered with horror as her eyes fell on Tikki, and who she could only assume was Chat Noir’s miraculous. Both gods flew up in shock, smiling sheepishly as they both stammered to try and explain the situation.

Adrien looked between the two of them, then turned around to face Marinette. Suddenly her eyes looked like a very familiar blue and the pieces clicked in his head.

“Ladybug?”

Marinette’s eyes widened and her face went beet red. She pushed past Adrien and ran to the other side of the room to the closet, locking herself inside. She heard Adrien call after her and race to the door, knocking on it, but she was too scared to face him.

“Marinette open up! Please! We need to talk!”

Marinette slid to the floor, tears in her eyes. Her breathing was becoming more and more frantic and she was about to hyperventilate. It had been years since she had had a panic attack, but she knew all too well what they felt like. She was terrified, and Adrien’s insistent knocking wasn’t helping. She covered her ears with her hands and pressed her head between her knees, trying to find her breath again.

Outside the closet, Adrien was at a loss. He was still wrapping his head around the fact that sweet, innocent Marinette was also quirky, confident Ladybug. He heard Tikki, Marinette’s miraculous as he had learned from Plagg, mutter a soft “told you so” as Plagg smacked her lightly.

He tapped the closet door again, but this time it was replied with a soft sniffle. Marinette was crying.

Adrien sighed and slid down to the floor, his back against the closet and his eyes closed.

“We’ll figure it out Mari... We always do, don’t we?”

  
  



	2. Masquerade

Marinette’s breathing had calmed down some during the 15 or so minutes she had spent in the closet. She assumed Adrien was still outside the door, as she hadn’t heard him get up or move in any way, but she was thankful that he had stopped trying to talk to her. Tikki and Plagg had used up every apology in the book, and had also gone silent after a while. There was nothing left to say. Her secret was out, and what was worse was that Adrien was Chat. She felt like a complete idiot for not seeing it before. The flirty lines, the compassion he showed her. It was like he was too sides of the same sword.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a small tap at the door. “Ready to talk now? I’m sure it can’t be comfortable in there.” Adrien said, his voice low and quiet. Marinette sniffled and pressed her legs closer to her chest, still not making a sound.

“Okay, then I’ll talk. I know you’re confused. I am too. I’m still trying to figure out how it’s possible that I didn’t figure it out on my own.” He paused, and Marinette could imagine his eyes lighting up as he smiled to himself. “But it’s still me. I promised you as Chat Noir that I would protect you, and I, as Adrien, will keep that promise. We’re best friends! At least... You’re my best friend...” She heard him clear his throat and felt a tear slide down her own cheek. “Please let me help you, Marinette.”

Adrien reached up to wipe his eyes dry. Plagg and Tikki watched silently from the desktop, looking at each other sadly. Despite everything going on, Tiki couldn’t resist leaning over and whispering a quiet “Told you so” in Plagg’s ear, who huffed indignantly.

After a few moments of no response, Adrien gave up waiting. His shoulders slumped down with his spirits and he breathed out heavily. He pushed himself up off the floor, ready to leave, but before he could even make it halfway to the door he heard the closet door shift behind him.

Marinette emerged, face stained with dried tears and her hair pulled out of its usual ponytails, framing her face like a halo. 

Adrien sighed in relief and stepped towards her hopefully. “What can I do to help you?”

“Forget.” Her voice was barely a whisper, and there was a strain behind it, but Adrien was still able to make out the word, if not barely.

“I can’t.”

Marinette nodded and a new set of tears over flowed her eyes, spilling down her face. “That’s the problem.”

Adrien took two short strides and wrapped his arms around her protectively. She made no move to hug him back, but leaned into it, pressing her body to his as close as the space between them would allow. After a moment, she finally reached her arms around his shoulders, her body trembling with the force of her sobs. Tikki flew over and rested her head on the human girl’s cheek, while Plagg burrowed into her scarf, rubbing her shoulder softly.

Adrien gave her a final squeeze, as if if he held her close enough he could shield her from any pain that she was feeling, before pulling away gently, looking into her eyes.

“I could never forget you Marinette. I can’t forget the mark you’ve made on my life, or the way you make me feel like maybe I’m here for a reason. I can’t forget any part of you.”

Marinette swallowed and nodded slowly, another tear finding its way down her face. 

“Who are you? Adrien or Chat?” She asked softly, avoiding his gaze.

He was taken aback. “ What do you mean?”

“You’re kind and caring as Adrien, but flirty and obnoxious as Chat Noir. Which one am I supposed to believe?”

He hugged her again, pulling her close. “Believe  _ me. _ No matter who I am, I don’t stop being me any more than you stop being you as Ladybug, right?”

Marinette giggled and shook her head on his shoulder.

“Are you okay now?” He asked, pulling away.

“I think so.”

“Good. I thought I’d lost you for a bit there.”

Marinette smiled and bumped his shoulder lightly, mimicking what he had been doing to her that Monday. “You could never lose me, kitty. Someone’s got to keep your ego in check during battles.” She blushed and smiled, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek. 

Adrien smiled and blushed. “I meant it when I said you’re my best friend, you know. And that’s both of my identities talking.”

“You’re my best friend too, Adrien.”

Plagg rolled his eyes and groaned, but he was drowned out by Tikki’s “awwww” as they both landed back on the desk.

“If you two are done, we should probably start looking into this whole ‘world goes silent and the streets are in panic’ thing, ok?” Plagg said, annoyed and tired.

The two teens locked eyes and nodded urgently. Whatever happened between them, saving Paris had to come first. They could sort out their feelings later, when lives weren’t in danger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter's a little short because I wanted to get something posted today, but I didn't have time to type the entirety of Chapter 2 out, so this is where I decided to end it. I'll have a longer chapter up for you guys later, when I'm not bogged down with essays to write as well.  
> This scene was pretty messy to write. I hate having to deal with characters feelings (I just want them to be happy!) but it had to be done. I /promise/ you'll find out more about the akuma in the next update! Anyways, hope you enjoyed this short snippet, and as always, feedback is always welcome :)


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